Chapter Text
Everything started with a boom. With a giant fiery explosion that made his vision go white. It's been months since Tommy had been exiled by his so-called best friend Tubbo. Exiled from a nation he worked to build from the ground up. After months of being exiled away from his friends and family, Tommy watched as everything he worked for was blown away in a matter of seconds. He watched, horrified. He opened his mouth trying to force anything out. To scream, to yell, to get angry, but he wasn't even able to force out a single word of hatred to the man who stood before his bathing in light of the flames. As he dropped down to his knees he was able to feel the heat burn against his face.
“It’s over Tommy. It’s time to restart.”
“Dream ple-” He was interrupted.
“Don't start it Tommy. You know you deserve it. This is what you get for hiding things from me. Now you're paying for it. You're starting over. I'm going to leave you alone for a week. When I come back I expect everything back. No one. And I mean no one. Will be able to visit.” Dream stalked over to where Tommy was knelt in the dirt. He was backlit by the angry flames flicking around him, giving him an aura that made Tommy tremble just by looking at him. He no longer had his mask on so Tommy had a good look of the sadistic look in his eyes. Grabbing the teenager's jaw, hard enough to bruise, he pulled him close. Close enough that he could feel the man's breath against his nose and lips. It made Tommy want to punch him in the face and run away, but he knew at this point there was no point in fighting back.
“Just remember my boy…” Dreams' voices dropped to a whisper. The close proximity made Tommy feel sick. “I love you.” He paused for a second. “And you love me too. Right?” When he didn't respond, the grip on his jaw tightened. It felt like it was about to break. Dream was no longer smiling. Instead his face was now contorted with anger. “Right Tommy! Answer me god dammit!” Tommy nodded his head as much as he could within the vice grip of a dream calloused hand. “Say it!” he shouted
“I...I love you.” Tommy was able to choke out. Dream leaned in and kissed his cheek. With that, he let go of the poor kid's jaw leaving him sore.
“It's for your own good baby. You know I'll always be with you.” Dream punctuated his sentence by poking Tommys chest, hard, right over his heart. With those being his final words, Dream walked through the portal. That left the teen alone, watching his captor slowly fade away. He knew Dream was going home, to the one place that seemed just out of his reach. He remembered the feeling of Dream's lips against his cheek. He immediately gagged and grabbed a handful of dirt. He rubbed it into his skin. He scrubbed it until his skin bled raw and he could no longer feel it. Why? What would he do? Tommy wasn't sure when exactly he had started crying but he definitely was now. He felt the tears run down his face. He wanted to believe it was because of the copious amount of soot and ash in the air, and not from the man who had told him obsessively how much he loved him. Eventually the heat from the fire was too much to bear. He staggered over to a lone tree which stood alone, protected from the fire. He sat with his back pressed roughly against the bark. It was sure to leave imprints but he really didn't care. It was hard to care about something so trivial after you had just watched everything you worked for over the last few months be blown away right in front of him. He pulled his legs as tightly as he could into his chest and buried his face into his knees. He could feel his face flushed red in shame as he sobbed. Everything is gone. He took everything. But Dream loves me. He said so himself. He shows me himself! The ways he makes me feel. He promised that he was my friend. So why? Tommy heaved, the smoke and ash finally starting to get to him. He spent the rest of his night in a state of utter disarray. His mind was scattered and he couldn't seem to think a single coherent thought. As the bright sun started to peak over the horizon line, Tommy started to hear things. Voices to be more precise. He had always heard Techno speak of the voices in his head, and how they would tell him things. Technoblade was strong enough to ignore them, to tune them out, to filter only the ones that deemed him no harm. Tommy on the other hand, wasn't able to do this. He couldn't tune them out. So instead he let them whisper things to him. He felt like he was on air. It was a floaty feeling but it didn't make him feel safe. It made him feel like he had no control over his own movement. That's when he blacked out.
He finally came too when he heard the whipping wind clouding his ears. It was dark again and he knew he was definitely up high. From his vantage point he could see the ashy remains of what used to be his camp site. The fire had quite obviously blown out hours ago. The air quickly picking up made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. From the feeling alone he knew he was on a grass block. It was impossible to tell how high up he was, but looking down made him feel dizzy. He was high up enough that he knew if he...fell...he would most likely die on impact. Along with the regain of consciousness came the return of the voices. All of them seemed to whisper things like do it bitch. Or variations of the sort. He knew what they meant. It was hard not too. He wasn't even angry or sad anymore; all he felt was numbness. I...I can't do it. Dream loves me. He loves me. He repeated it over and over in his head. He loves me. He loves me. But he knew, no matter how much he said it, it didn't feel like the truth anymore. The words didn't feel the same anymore. He always hits me. And he takes my stuff. But he loves me. Right? He lays on his stomach, letting his upper body hang slack off of his makeshift block tower. Jump now and Dream won't be able to love you anymore. You'll be free. Tears prick against Tommy's eyes. He gritted his teeth in some sort of attempt to clear his head. The whispers saying awful things now accumulated into shouts and taunts. Eventually it was too much to take. In a rash decision he pushed with his legs, launching himself with as much force as he could muster, off the tower.
The wind whipped around him, pushing his hair wildly around his face as he plummeted toward what would soon be his final fate. What the fuck are you doing?! Stop it please Tom! Tubbos' voice yelled at him. It was louder than anything else in his head. The hurt in his voice was enough to snap Tommy out of whatever trance he was in. Tubbo. TUBBO! As fast as he could possibly move he grabbed a water bucket from his inventory. It was the only thing left that he had, In what had to be record time, he was able to save himself mere seconds before hitting the ground. His breathing was fast and labored as he laid, unmoving in a pool of water. God, what was that? What did I almost just do? He grabbed his head and groaned in pain. It felt like his head was splitting in two. With what he could muster he sat up. He clutched his chest through his very soaked through shirt. He tried as well as he could to steady his heart which was pounding uncontrollably in his chest. I've got to get the hell out of here.
With nothing but the clothes on his back, he ran toward the desert. He stumbled at first, almost tripping over his own feet. The sand under his feet caused traction and slowed him considerably. It took a while, but eventually he was able to pick up a steady pace. Tommy let his mind wander as he rushed toward no particular destination. He felt almost like a zombie as he let his body take control once again. At some point he realized that he needed to start grabbing materials. Just enough for him to get through the night. Just off of what he could feel, the temperature was dropping, and fast. With no bed he decided to dig down. Because he had no tools he had to use his hands. The feeling of the dirt and grime under his nails made him cringe, but he kept digging until he had a hole he could fit comfortably in. When all was said and done he was almost folded in half. With the awkward position it was nearly impossible to re-cover himself, but he ended up being able to cover himself with enough sand and dirt, to hide himself. From what he could feel, if mobs were to pass by they probably wouldn't look too far into the strand lump of ground. Try as he might, Tommy wasn't able to fall asleep that night. With no bed and no obvious future for him in sight, he was filled with a feeling of being lost.
With the sight of the morning light shiny through the cracks into his hiding spot, he wasted no time gathering himself to begin running once again.
By the time he had reached where the snow meets desert, he had gathered enough tools and materials to keep him alive a little longer. What stood before him was a snowy tundra, one he knew would take him days to cross. He didn’t know if and when Dream would start looking for him, thinking about his time in exile he knew it was far too late to go back. If Dream found him well… well he didn’t want to think about what would happen then. So instead he embraced the cold biting wind and pushed forward. His determination never faltering, he travels for almost three nights in the cold. That’s when he sees it. Over in the distance he sees smoke. Tommy’s first guess is that it’s a campfire but as he starts running forward he sees the shape of a much larger structure. The blond had finally gotten used to everything being a powdery white, but now, he was greeted with the sight of a homely cabin.
The home stood out garishly against its surroundings. There were few fences that kept a variety of animals out front. From what he could see there was a horse, some cows, pigs, and… a polar bear. Unexpectedly, he paid the big white creature no mind as it seemed relatively docile. The other sides of the house were pretty bare with almost no decoration aside from the small garden out back. Instead of raiding the garden he walked around to the front porch where the entrance was. Tommy staggered up the steps and raised his hand to knock. However, before his fist made any contact with the hardwood, the door flew open hitting him straight in the forehead. Within seconds the weakened, malnourished boy blacked out.
The cold snow seeping into his clothes was the last feeling he could remember. He could still feel it slightly when he awoke. The difference now was instead of freezing to death buried in the snow, he was warm. He was still wearing his clothes and minimal armour, the ones he had on before he blacked out. He was sitting in a bed, just a standard red one, but Tommy hadn't felt this warm in a long time. So for the time being he wanted to cherish it as much as he could. He wrapped himself tightly with blankets and sunk as far as he could into the mattress below him. Sadly his comfort couldn't last forever. A knock bounced off the walls of the small room, effectively pulling him from his fantasy.
“Yes?” His voice croaked and his throat felt like sandpaper. He cringed at the sound of it. He hadn't had to actually use his vocal cords for days. The door opened slowly, and with heavy footsteps, in walked a man with a face that Tommy was all too familiar with.
“Techno '' Tommy felt a rush of relief flow over him at the sight of his 7ft older brother. Technoblade just nodded toward him. Tommy hadn't seen his brother in years, he almost didn't recognize him, but the unmistakable features of the blood god were ones that were hard to forget. The teen let himself pause for a moment, recollecting everything leading up to where they were now. It was sudden, but Tommys expression changed drastically. He now looked distressed and frightened. He jumped from where he was seated on the bed and opened up his inventory. The sudden movement made Techno take a step back as he watched his kid brother's frantic movements. Tommy took all of his armour off, followed not long after by everything in his inventory. It all accumulated in a pile at the piglin hybrids boots. Before any words could leave his mouth, Tommy had gotten on his hands and knees. He bowed his head not out of respect, but of fear. The position he was in almost looked like he was praying. This wasn't the Tommy he knew. The kid in front of him, the one bowed at his feet, this was not his brother. This was a shell of a man once confident and bold, now submissive and broken.
“To your feet Tommy.” His voice came out unintentionally demanding. Indicated by the boy flinching at the sudden harshness. He stood up quickly but kept his head bowed. His back was hunched and his arms crossed whilst gripping his own waist. Techno reached his arm out to lead his younger brother out toward the hallway, instead Tommy kept his grip on his own sides and walked himself to where he knew the kitchen was.
‘What is this” The blond asked in reference to the small meal that had already been set on the table. Technoblade just stared at him in confusion.
“It’s dinner Tommy. Sit.” The two made their way toward opposite heads of the table. Techno noticed immediately that Tommy refused to sit before he had. He kept his head bowed, afraid to look his older brother in the eyes. Techno couldn’t wipe the perplexed look off his face. This kid who hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days had yet to make any movement toward the food laid out in front of him.
“Go on now, eat.” Prompted the older of the two. The reply he got could barely be clarified as a mumble.
“I’m sorry? Speak up boy.” Techno really didn’t mean to sound so harsh.
“I..I can’t yet.” Tommy finally was able to force out. He again had his eyes trained on his dirty socks that were riddled with holes and rips.
“Why not tell me why the hell not then.” The older man was starting to get impatient. He never really had been good with children.
“Well, Dream always says I have to wait for him. I’ll get punished if I don’t.” He paused “I just… well I just thought you had the same rules.” His voice trailed off at the end. Techno sighed trying his best to just be a little more patient with the kid.
“Tommy.” He got no response. “Tommy, look at me.” Techno kept himself as calm as possible. He was known for having a short temper. He wasn’t going to let himself flip out on his brother like this. Tommy pulled his eyes from where they bore into his own feet to stare tentatively into the piercing ones of the hybrid sitting across from him. Techno took a long sip of the soup making sure Tommy was looking right at him. The boy was very visibly tense and uncomfortable. Even so, with no verbal permission he started his meal. Throughout their dinner Tommy’s eyes periodically shifted to stare at his older brother. This did not go unnoticed by Techno, but for the time being he made no mention of it.
Tommy had been given a bed in his guest room for his short stay. Before Techno had the chance to leave him alone for the night he was called to attention by just a few words.
“Please don’t take me back to him.” Techno could tell just from his voice that Tommy’s eyes had become tearful.
“Yes Tommy. I promise I won’t take you back to Dream ever again.” He didn’t look at the boy, sparing him the embarrassment of having someone see him cry. Surprisingly Tommy fell asleep almost immediately. Techno however stayed up. Pacing around his living room, spending what felt like hours mulling over the situation. He didn’t want to make the wrong choice and end up putting Tommy’s life in jeopardy once again. With a sudden surge of courage he picked up his communicator and dialed one of four numbers he had saved. It rang three times before the person on the other side picked it up.
“...Hey, yeah it’s me…”
“...He escaped…”
“...he just showed up here. Not sure how he found this place though. No one knows where I live. He was pretty roughed up though. In pretty bad shape…”
“...Seems he just ran…”
“...No idea how he survived all this time…”
“...God you should’ve seen him. He’s like a completely different person. He seems broken…”
“...I really do hate to admit it but I have no idea what I’m to do here…”
“...No no you’re right. I’m not fit to take care of the two of us…”
“...would you really?...”
“...if you really think you can…”
“...If you say so…”
“...ok then, I guess we’ll be there by 5 tomorrow then…”
“...and you as well…”
“Thank you Sam.”